Educational Technology Ray Schroeder, editor, OTEL - University of Illinois at Springfield |
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News, Techniques and Theories of Effective Use of Technology in Education 
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Saturday, May 28, 2005
Gates funds more high-tech schools - eSchool News
With support from Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates and his foundation, seven school districts across North Carolina will share $300,000 in grant money that will help them prepare small, technology-themed high schools, Gov. Mike Easley said May 18. The money will be used by the districts to plan schools based on a New Technology High School in Napa, Calif. Schools modeled on the Napa facility reportedly have opened in 11 spots nationwide. The target date for the new schools to open in North Carolina is fall 2006. (0) comments
The ABCs of RSS - Will Richardson, techLearning
Just what is RSS and how can it be used in education? Depending on who you talk to, RSS stands for Rich Site Summary or Real Simple Syndication. Either way, RSS is an important technology that information specialists and educators would be wise to harness. In simple terms, RSS is a format for aggregating Web content in one place. For instance, say you're a social studies teacher and you've found 20 or 30 Web logs and media sites consistently publishing relevant information. Finding the time to visit those sites on a regular basis would be nearly impossible. But what if you only had to go to one place to read all of the new content on all of those sites? Well, that's exactly what an RSS feed allows you to do. It uses a type of software called an "aggregator" or feed collector to check the feeds you subscribe to, usually every hour, and collect all the new content from those sites. In other words, you check one site instead of 30 — not a bad trade-off for a harried teacher. (0) comments Friday, May 27, 2005
PEDAGOGY & CURRICULUM - Bonnie Bracey, Digital Divide Network
Teaching and learning has entered a new phase as schools implement the use of ICT's throughout all aspects of education. ICT's and specifically computers, as a topic and an instructional method have had an immense impact in classrooms. Teachers are not only having to use them as a tool for planning and delivery, but also integrate their use into other areas of student learning. This section will discuss the pedagogical implications for teachers and learners in terms of the implementation of ICT's in schools. Productive Pedagogies has emerged as a key term as education is turning its attention towards 'how' teachers implement learning activities. (0) comments
Government pours millions into laptops for teachers - New Zealand Herald
Nearly 8000 more teachers will be eligible for laptop computers following increased spending on information and communications technologies (ICT) in yesterday's Budget. An additional $30.2 million will be invested in a range of school ICT initiatives over the next four years. Education Minister Trevor Mallard said new technology had influenced every aspect of modern life. "These initiatives will see more schools and teachers using ICT to support effective teaching and enhance learning," he said. The new funding includes $14.2 million to extend the leasing of laptops to permanent fulltime teachers of years 1-3 students at state and state-integrated schools. (0) comments Thursday, May 26, 2005
Horner plans 'Walk for Technology' - Clarion News
Jacob Horner, a fourth-grade student at Keystone Elementary School , initiated a school-wide fundraising effort to help raise money for new computers, not only in his classroom, but in the school. With the help his gifted-math teacher, Nicole Gorog, Horner spearheaded a “Walk for Technology” fundraising effort which will take place starting at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 21 at the high school track. The walk takes place rain or shine. Prizes will be awarded for the top three winners in the "who raised the most money" and "who walked the farthest" categories. (0) comments
Online field trips boost reading scores - eSchool News
A free collection of online field trips and other web-based learning materials has been shown to boost reading levels and help improve test scores among middle-school students, according to the results of a scientifically based research study from Maryland Public Television (MPT). Approximately 400 seventh and eighth graders from two Maryland public middle schools--one urban, one rural--participated in the study, which took place during the 2003-04 school year and was released in late April. The study showed that seventh and eighth graders who used three online field trips--each specifically developed by MPT for social studies and language arts--scored higher on a national standardized reading comprehension test than those who used traditional learning methods alone. (0) comments Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Technology Report Tracks Spending Shift - Kevin Bushweller, EdWeek
States are spending millions of dollars to build powerful new data-management systems to help them keep up with the reporting requirements and student-achievement goals of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, an Education Week report set for release this week has found. (0) comments
Tech teacher meets any challenge: Lynn Keith wears a multitude of hats and thrives on it - STEVE LYTTLE, Charlotte Observer
During her time as a classroom teacher at McKee Road Elementary, Keith turned her fascination with computers ("something I always had," she says) into a new direction for her career. When the school's computer teacher left, Keith was asked if she wanted to take over. "That's how I got to where I am," she says. She teaches computer skills to fourth- and fifth-grade classes at Providence Spring and helps teachers in the earlier grades prepare lesson plans that involve computer use. "I've found that at the early grades, the classroom teachers are well-suited for matching their curriculum and the computer with students," she says. "As the students get older, they need a bit more complexity." (0) comments Tuesday, May 24, 2005
SES: Two billion reasons to worry - Corey Murray, eSchool News
At an estimated $2 billion per year, the market for Supplemental Educational Services (SES)--the voluntary tutoring programs that must be offered to students who attend certain underperforming schools, as required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)--has become one of the hottest money-making propositions in public education. Since NCLB's inception in 2001, hundreds of educational service providers have lined up to cash in on the law's prove-it-or-lose-it philosophy, which threatens dire consequences for any school that cannot boast improved test scores for all subgroups of students. (0) comments
Shaping E-Learning Policy - Gwen Solomon , techLearning
Cody Millin is nine-and-a-half years old and looks like a typical fourth-grader, but he's in sixth grade and has no trouble doing the work of a typical middle school student. He does all of his learning from home and likes working independently. He says, "I'd get bored waiting for others to finish an assignment. I like to do my work and move on to the next thing." Like most homeschoolers, Cody works at a desk in his house, where his mother is his learning coach. Unlike most such pupils, however, Cody is part of a public charter school that's licensed by the state of Pennsylvania. (0) comments Monday, May 23, 2005
A Technology-Based Bullying Prevention Lesson for Parents and Communities - Lawrence A. Tomei and Debbie Burkey Piecka, THE Journal
March 2005 was the deadliest month for U.S. school shootings since the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado. This time, the tragedy struck at a Minnesota high school when a teenager shot and killed nine people, including a security guard, a teacher and five students, before taking his own life — once again escalating American concerns for school safety issues and bullying prevention policies (Reuters 2005). Although school districts endeavor to integrate antiviolence programs within their schools, the problem doesn’t stop there; it involves the entire community. (0) comments
Why We’re Better Off Without EETT - Jon Bower, THE Journal
The proposed 2006 federal budget has been criticized by many in the education and technology communities for zeroing out the primary federal funding source for education technology: the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) state blockgrant program. I say we are better off without it. Here is why. (0) comments Sunday, May 22, 2005
Successful Strategies for Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners - Margaret Bowerman, THE Journal
One of the greatest challenges teachers face is effectively reaching a roomful of students with varying abilities and learning styles on a daily basis. When I completed my special education certification 27 years ago, I knew I’d be constantly working to develop a curriculum rich enough for all students. Fortunately, I’ve found that technology is the perfect tool for providing learners of all abilities the opportunity to achieve. (0) comments
Technology Integration in Foreign Language Teaching Demonstrates Shift From a Behavioral to a Constructivist Learning Approach - Li Wang, THE Journal
With the advent of networked computers and Internet technology, computer-based instruction has been widely used in language classrooms throughout the United States. Computer technologies have dramatically changed the way people gather information, conduct research and communicate with others worldwide. Considering the tremendous startup expenses, copyright issues, objectionable materials and other potential disadvantages of technology, much research has been conducted regarding the effectiveness of, and better strategies for, technology integration. Taking the characteristics of language learning into account, this article helps answer two important questions: Do we need technology in language classrooms? And what kinds of services do computer technologies provide for these classrooms? (0) comments Educational Technology News Blog Archives OTEL - Ray's Home Page - Notebook - UIS Online - U of I Online - UIS Home Fair Use |
